International Protection Bill 2026: From the Seanad
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-15
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank Deputies Gannon and Carthy for their contributions. As an overview, when it comes to legislation like this, I, as Minister - I presume this is also the case for the House - have to try to balance conflicting rights. When dealing with international protection legislation, on one hand, we have to take into account the interests of the applicant claiming they are fleeing persecution or war to seek refuge in Ireland. On the other hand, I have to try to balance the interests of the State because, as Deputy Carthy indicated, there are huge costs involved in providing accommodation for individuals who seek international protection.
The primary driver of the costs involved is the number of applicants coming in. In 2024, 18,500 people applied for international protection in Ireland. I have openly stated that I want to try to reduce the number of people coming into Ireland claiming asylum in circumstances where many are subsequently found not be entitled to it. The point I have made is that there are too many people claiming asylum who are not entitled to it. That has been subsequently adjudicated to be the case. That is my objective. I have tried to shift the balance in a particular way in favour of the State.
That brings me to the first issue raised by Deputy Gannon, namely family reunification. Family reunification is an issue very much premised on the rights of the asylum applicant or in this instance the refugee who has been granted status. In Ireland, there are two or possibly more methods of achieving family reunification. The first is via the non-EEA family reunification policy. I updated and changed that last year. The policy applies in circumstances where people come to Ireland to work as nurses, carers or doctors and, having been here for a number of years, apply for family reunification. Under that process, they have to be able to show that if they bring their relatives over from the other country to live in Ireland, they will be able to pay for the upkeep of their relative once they have arrived in Ireland. That is reasonable. It is the balancing of rights. I have to ensure the State does not end up picking up the cost of looking after individuals who have come here and will then require many of the services we all know are under pressure. That is the non-EEA family reunification process. It requires people to show an ability to pay for and look after the individuals who have arrived here as part of their family.
Separately, there is the refugee application for family reunification. This is not governed by the EU migration pact; it is a sovereign decision we can make if it is decided to support it. The change I am proposing is that individuals granted refugee status in Ireland will have to wait two years to apply to bring their family over to Ireland. Similarly, like people in the non-EEA mechanism, they will have to be able to show they have the means to pay for and care for them. That is not an unreasonable position for the State to adopt. We are an extremely generous State in terms of granting asylum but it is too much to say that family members brought over should be paid for by the State as well. That is why the proposals set out which state they have to wait to years and show they have the financial wherewithal to support their family if they want them to be reunified in Ireland is a reasonable proposal.
Asylum policy in Ireland must also take into account what is happening in the UK. I cannot ignore what is happening in the UK. It has a significant impact on what happens in Ireland.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-15